Reflecting on mindful teaching in online lessons

Introduction

Have you ever become distracted in the middle of a lesson while teaching online? Perhaps your mind went racing to the future, maybe you got stuck in the past, or an unexpected event may have occurred in your teaching environment (such as the doorbell ringing) that jolted you out of your thought process. Staying in the present moment is challenging, however necessary if we want to see effective communication taking place between learners and teachers who are separated by a computer screen.

What is mindfulness?

Being in the “here and now” requires effort from both the mind and body. Authors from different areas have defined this state as “mindfulness”, which is achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment.

Jon Kabat Zinn (2016), an American professor of medicine states that “mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally.” Another reference is the German writer Eckhart Tolle (1997), author of numerous works on spiritual enlightenment. He says that “human beings have a tendency to obsess over the past and the future. But we only know the past through the lens of the present moment, and when the future is upon us, it will also be another now.” American neuroscientist, Catherine Kerr (2013) affirms that “mindfulness starts with ‘mindfulness of the body’, which aligns with Buddhist teachings.” Moreover, in the book “Old Path White Clouds”, which traces the Buddha’s life, Thich Nhat Hanh (author and Buddhist monk) writes that Siddhartha realized that body and mind formed one reality which could not be separated. Deborah Schussler (2020), professor of Education, comments that “[m]indful teaching occurs when one is aware

Implications of mindful teaching

Taking into account the definitions of mindfulness, let’s consider what implications being “in the present” and being fully aware of what is going on around have in online language classes. For the sake of space, I will focus on mindful teaching with adult learners. It should be mentioned that the assumptions on the way children learn in the literature are different from those of adult learning (see Kearsley [2010]).

Over the last two years, many language teachers have experienced online teaching firsthand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of a survey conducted by the Instituto Península between April 13 and May 14, 2020, showed that out of the 7,734 Brazilian teachers interviewed, 83% said they were not prepared for remote teaching and 88% said that their first online class was during the pandemic. Given the sudden obligation to migrate to remote learning, there has not been a great deal of time to reflect on the teaching and learning process. Therefore, in this article, I would like to open up the opportunity to do just this and encourage debates on mindful teaching in online teaching.

Dealing with distractions

Considering the possible distractions teachers may experience in makeshift environments (often at home), a conscious effort to concentrate and not lose the thread of what is happening in a given lesson is challenging but essential for enhancing student learning. Distractions may include family members doing various activities in a confined space, unexpected noise, children requiring attention, visitors ringing the doorbell, messages arriving on the computer screen, etc. Schussler (2020) mentions that “an individual acting mindfully is aware of the complexities of their environment, whereas an individual acting mindlessly acts on autopilot, oblivious to different ways of viewing aspects of the environment.” When body and mind are in tune, we are more aware of our present circumstances and any actions we may need to take to improve them. For example, asking ourselves, is the setting where we are teaching online appropriate? If there is no way of changing the space, can we change our mindsets by asking those around us to collaborate explaining assertively that our full concentration is needed when we are teaching? Have we made a conscious effort to ignore any external messages that come through during our lesson? I purposefully used “external” here to compare with “internal” messages, which may be from a student in the class who is having a problem getting into the online classroom, for example. The fewer “external” distractions we have, the more we can concentrate on the present moment and our students’ needs.

Being open with students

We have probably all experienced situations where learners do not want to turn on their cameras, they are distracted by unexpected events that happen in their learning environments and perhaps lose interest during the lesson. This can hinder the teaching and learning process. It may be helpful to talk to your students openly about various topics, such as: the reasons for not turning on their camera (this can be done in private); setting out your aims of the lesson so that students can be prepared and feel a sense of achievement at the end of a class; telling the students there will be a 10-minute break in the middle of the lesson; doing some mindful activities with them during the lesson so they can bring themselves to the “here and now”, such as breathing exercises, feeling their feet on the floor, grasping an object to feel a sense of anchorage and getting up from their seat to move around. Neuroscientist and author, Tamara Russell, says that “when we are studying online, we’ve got our head in the screens. Making sure your body is comfortable before you start trying to use your brain is important.” Talking to your students and setting clear guidelines about homework and when it will be corrected is also important for effective teaching and learning. Setting homework for every lesson and giving clear instructions can help learners get into a routine and consequently see their progress.

Using our senses

Joseph O’Connor (2013) writes “your senses are the only way you have of getting direct feedback. You have only your senses to ‘make sense’ of the world.” We are constantly absorbing data through our senses which are transformed to an internal sensory-based map that reflects the outside world. This map is what we see, hear, feel, taste and smell. In remote learning, we rely more on our visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic sensory channels as opposed to face-to-face learning where we may have opportunities to use these senses, as well as our olfactory and gustatory ones. Taking this into account, material prepared using visuals (embracing diversity), clearly written instructions and content, which is well spaced out on the screen using a clear font is essential.

Knowing our learners’ needs is also paramount, for example, some people find it difficult to visualize written text on a screen that has various different colours. Do you have any students who have a visual impairment or are hard of hearing? Only by being aware of the people in our classes can we discover this vital information and act upon it.

One aspect I reflected on from teaching online was whether I was giving students enough time to respond to a question that I had asked everyone. I started counting to ten (to myself) after posing a question and realized that learners needed this time and sometimes more as they had to think about the answer in another language, pluck up the courage to answer in front of their classmates and unmute themselves, among other things. Moreover, responding to students’ answers to continue a conversation and bringing others into it requires active listening whereby a conscious effort to hear and understand what the other person is saying, being non-judgemental and not interrupting is required.

This means putting your own thoughts on hold and resisting the urge to start planning what you are going to say (i.e., mind racing ahead to the future).

Conclusion

Given the enormous challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented us with concerning online education, I believe it is time we reflected on the teaching and learning process and our practices in terms of focusing on what works and what needs to be improved in remote learning. Life has changed drastically in recent times and is constantly taking on new shapes and forms. In order to make sense of it all, being in the “here and now” is vital for teachers and learners as we need to consider the current state of any given moment, understand it and take necessary actions. I would like to end with some food for thought quoting Tamara Russell, “mindfulness is not the same as zoning out. Mindful awareness – mindfulness – requires your brain to be active and engaged.”

References

Kabat-Zinn, J (2016). Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life. Hatchette Books.

Kearsley, G. (2010). Andragogy (M. Knowles). The theory Into practice database. Retrieved from http://tip.psychology.org

Kerr, C. E. (2013). Mindfulness starts with the body: somatosensory attention and top-down modulation of cortical alpha rhythms in mindfulness meditation. Front. Hum. Neurosci., 13 February 2013 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00012

O’Connor, J. (2000). NLP Workbook: The Practical Guidebook to Achieving the Results You Want. Element.

Russell, T. (2015). Mindfulness in Motion. Watkins.

Schussler, D.L. (2020). Mindful Teaching: A Construct for Developing Awareness and Compassion. Reflective Practice. International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives.

Thich Nhat Hanh (1991). Old Path White Clouds. Parallax Press.

Tolle, E (1997). The Power of Now. Namaste Publishing.